Heart of Gold
by uo-chou
Summary: The Kyuubi enhances a natural mutation present in Naruto, creating a new kekkei genkai. Watch as Naruto discovers his new bloodline limit, the power to alter probabilities in his favor. Watch out enemies of Konoha, Fate's Child is not to be trifled with.
1. Chapter 1

Heart of Gold: A Naruto Story

Chapter I: Murphy's Law, Repealed

Three year old Uzumaki Naruto stared uncomprehendingly into the eyes of the tall man looming over him. In his short existence, he had experienced emotional pains, from the lack of friends or permanent caregivers. He had gone through a string of nursemaids, each only lasting for a month or two at most before moving on. Similarly, the other children in the orphanage with him sometimes approached him during playtime, but then next day they would start ignoring him like everyone else, almost as if someone were telling them to do so… It hurt, but he could deal with it. This situation… Naruto didn't know if he could deal with.

The chunnin looked down at Naruto, frowning in deep displeasure. The kid was blocking the alley he was walking through, near the merchant district. He didn't hate the child… but the wretched thing reminded him so strongly of the loss of his beloved Naneko-chan… his three year old kid sister who had been killed during the Kyuubi attack. Before he could even understand what he was doing, some half-buried part of his mind was screaming, and his foot lashed out in a chakra-enhanced kick to the child's stomach. Naruto 'whuffed', all of the air leaving his lungs, and his small body propelled against a group of trash cans, breaking his spine in three places. He felt blazing agony as his ruptured stomach poured digestive acids into his solar plexus and both kidneys and his liver began to fail. He passed out without even screaming.

The chunnin, Hamahiru Sato, froze in shock. It was as if he had no control of his actions. He realized that his combat reflexes had acted automatically, pouring all of the rage and anger he had felt since his sister's death into one attack. He was no ignorant fool, and held no illusions Naruto was actually a demon. He knew that he had possibly just killed an innocent child. Quickly, Sato picked up Naruto's small body and jumped from roof to roof as quickly as he could, toward Konoha's hospital. He knew that his life was forfeit if Naruto died, and very likely even if he did not. The blond was under the personal protection of the Hokage himself.

As soon as he entered the hospital, he flagged down a medic. A middle aged man, stern in both appearance and demeanor took the child from him, and place the young box on an emergency room bed.

"What happened?" asked the medic-nin, as he flew through hand-seals.

The chunnin gulped, but answered, "I kicked him, sir. I didn't mean to, my body just moved on its own." Sato looked down.

The medic's head shot up in shock. "Assault of a child?! Security!"

Three beefy looking hospital security ninjas appeared around the chunnin. "Orders, Director-sama?" one of them asked.

"Take him to the shinobi holding facility. Tell them he's critically injured a civilian toddler."

The security guard nodded his head, and the three of them led the shocked man away.

While the conversation had been taking place, the medic-nin had been performing a diagnostic jutsu, giving him information on the boy's injuries. Already Naruto's prodigious healing factor had erased the most damaging of injuries that were inflicted upon him, and as the doctor watched, astonished, over the course of the next ten minutes every trace that he was ever hurt disappeared.

"Astounding," he muttered. It almost reminded him of his adopted son's bloodline, only much quicker and cleaner, though both seemed to use true regeneration. He wondered if he could persuade the Hokage to let him run some further tests on the demon container. Nothing invasive, maybe just some blood screenings and chakra flow tests. He could potentially learn a lot from studying him. The Director of the Konoha Hospital shook his head. Such thoughts could wait for later. Right now, he had to go inform the Hokage of what had happened.

&~&~&~&~&~&

The Kyuubi no Kitsune was furious. Since he had been imprisoned three years ago, he had been able to see, hear, smell, taste, and feel everything that his host experienced, but was powerless to affect anything. Besides boredom, this really hadn't been a problem until today. Never before was his host's life in so much danger, never before had the Kyuubi felt his own mortality so strongly. Besides, that kick had hurt like an absolute bitch. He decided then and there that he would do everything in his power to prevent his host from going through such an experience again.

The nine-tailed demon fox began by changing the boy's genes so that his body would become more durable over time. His skin would become extremely strong, he would grow organic armor over all of his organs, as well as creating redundant spares for his heart, liver, spleen, and spinal cord. His bones would become as hard as diamond, and as tough as carbon nanotubes. His muscles, without increasing in size, would become many times stronger than a normal person's. Many such changes were made to Naruto's physique, not changing his outward appearance, yet making him more than human. The fox even improved the boy's brain, making his IQ shoot up several dozen points and giving him a perfect memory. Many other minor changes were performed, easily making Naruto the most perfect human that had ever lived, in the Fox's own opinion.

The second biggest change the fox made was to Naruto's elemental alignment. He was a natural wind element user, but the fox rearranged his coils to make it possible for Naruto to master every element and sub-element with enough work. It wasn't the same kind of mastery that the legendary rinnegan provided, Naruto wouldn't start out with an affinity for all of the elements, rather his affinities would grow stronger the more he used those elements. It was a powerful gift, but it would need a lot of hard work to be able to utilize.

None of this was enough for the Kyuubi. The changes would take years, as work like that needed time to happen. Also, the changes would need pounds of nutrients obtained from years of meals to be able to grow the physical structures required. Even if he could change the boy overnight, Kyuubi was certain he wouldn't even be a match for a genin. His host, after all, was only three years old. He needed something more… dramatic. And after searching the child's chakra pathways and the entirety of his genome, he thought he had found what he needed to insure the brat's, and thus his own, survival.

The kid had a small mutation, what the other humans would call a "bloodline limit", though it was weak and very subtle. The bloodline caused probability to bend around young Naruto, causing events related to chance to sometimes fall into his favor. The fox thought it would grow stronger as Naruto aged, but it would never be powerful enough that anyone would notice it outright. He decided to do something about that.

Focusing his youki at the gene complex responsible for the blond boy's kekkei genkai, the Kyuubi caused it to strengthen, to become more powerful, and it dutifully rearranged itself into a new configuration—one much more suitable than the last. His work accomplished, the Kyuubi slept.

&~&~&~&~&~&

**Six Years Later**

Naruto bowed to his sparring partner, Aburame Shino, and entered the ring. Shino bowed back, taking his place as well. Both boys took stances for the basic academy taijutsu style.

"Let's see what you both can do, Naruto, Shino. Remember, taijutsu only," said Umino Iruka, their academy instructor. Both boys nodded to him. "Begin!"

Naruto stood still, never leaving his spot. Shino rushed at him, quick yet calm, and threw a fist into Naruto's face. The blonde's head slipped to the side at the last possible second, evading the Aburame's punch. He flowed past Shino's guard, and launched his elbow into the other boy's ribs. Shino lurched forward in pain, and Naruto quickly spun around, throwing the other child out of the sparring circle, onto the ground. Shino landed on his back with a 'thump'. Iruka, as well as several of the other children in the class winced.

"Excellent work, Naruto. Shino, your attack was textbook perfect, however your guard was too open. Next time, keep your hands closer together, and your feet wider."

Shino stood up, then nodded. Naruto walked over, and smiling, patted his bug-using friend on the back. "You're improving, Shino." The stoic boy hesitated a second, then gave a half-nod and walked to the sidelines. Naruto followed him, chatting happily the entire time, occasionally receiving a nod from his friend.

The watched Iruka direct the rest of the spars for that day, then the class was dismissed. Naruto jumped up onto the nearest building, and began roof-jumping until he was at the edge of the Konoha's residential sector, then took to the trees. He quickly arrived at a small house set in a clearing in the trees. It wasn't much, but it was infinitely better than the terrible apartment that Naruto had lived in his first week away from the orphanage. Like most good things in his life, he had stumbled across the small house by accident, and found a note inside proclaiming whoever found this place to be its new owner. Below the note was the deed to the house, and almost 10 acres of the forest around it. The house had only one bedroom and no electricity, but the stove and bath were wood-fired, so that was alright.

The greatest part of the house was the stack of books and scrolls he found on chakra control and ninja techniques. Using these materials, he quickly surpassed all of his year-mates in every practical skill the academy taught. At the age of nine he could walk up the sides of tress, stride over water, and he was currently learning how to balance on one finger on a kunai planted in the ground. He could even enhance his muscles with chakra to a degree, giving him a huge advantage in speed and strength in spars. Combined with his already far above average physique, he was leaving the other academy students in the dust.

Among the materials Naruto found, there were two medium-sized scrolls filled with water-element ninjutsu as well. He could use them all but one of them by now, including his favorite, the water-clone. It had been hard going at first, learning eleven of the twelve different water techniques written there. In fact it almost felt un-natural, as if he was forcing his chakra into a pattern it wasn't meant to flow in. But by the time he had been practicing them for a year, they had started to feel as natural as breathing. He could now do all five of the C-ranked techniques with ease, including the one-handed variant of the water clone. The technique he was best at, however, was the Suiton: Water Encampment Wall. He had practiced that technique more than all the others combined, and he was currently trying to learn to cast it using no hand-seals, and only his foot as a focus. He had seen a jounin cast an earth wall in the same way, and he hoped to be able to replicate that with his water wall. The main downside to these techniques was that they required a source of water to be nearby, or the amount of chakra needed, and the control required rose dramatically.

The last water technique Naruto was working on had the possibility to solve that little hitch. It was an A-S ranked technique called the Suiton: Baku Suishouha. It would allow the user to expel huge quantities of water from their mouth, in direct proportion to the amount of chakra used. The technique didn't need any control at all to be effective, just enormous amounts of chakra. The major downside was that you had to have almost complete mastery of the water element to be able to make water in large quantities, otherwise most of the chakra used in the technique would be wasted. Naruto was making a lot of progress. The first time he used the technique he had used almost fifty percent of his total reserves, and spat out barely a mouthful of water. These days, he could have a few hundred gallons, enough to fight for several minutes, unless he used one of the bigger techniques. He hoped to master the technique eventually, which would allow him to make hundreds or thousands, or even millions of gallons, enough to fill a small sized lake.

There were many notes made next to each of the jutsu in the scrolls Naruto found, talking about the different properties of each jutsu, its strengths and weaknesses, and hidden aspects of the jutsus. Naruto had read that the water clone technique worked best when used in conjunction with a weapon, as the technique replicated any of the special properties a weapon held. There were some weird notes there about electricity and something called the 'raijin', but the notes didn't elaborate any further on what a raijin was exactly. Naruto thought it was possible that it was some sort of weapons that used raiton natured chakra, which would be extremely useful if it was used with water element techniques. Water conducted electricity very well, after all.

As a result of the writing, Naruto's main project for the past three months had been researching weapons with 'special properties'. He had found out, quite by accident while eavesdropping on a blacksmith, that most enhanced shinobi weapons were created using something called 'fuuinjutsu', which seemed to be the written equivalent of hand-seals. Naruto had looked for books or scrolls on fuuinjutsu in the civilian and academy collections, but there was nothing in either library, except a chapter in the final year academy textbook explaining what fuuinjutsu was. Apparently it was a very rare art. No wonder these 'special' weapons seemed to be so prized and rare. As he was unable to learn fuuinjutsu or how to smith weapons, Naruto decided to be on the lookout for one of these rare weapons, and try to obtain one through any means possible.

The blond boy used his water clones to gather firewood that night, and cooked a rabbit he had caught in one of his traps for dinner, along with some new potatoes and greens from the vegetable garden he kept. He was by no means a good cook, but Naruto had become somewhat decent over the three years he had spent caring for himself. He took a hot bath in his furo after supper, then read through one of his chakra theory books before going to sleep.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Author's Note:

So, yeah. I started another story. I figure one of these days I'll make one that's a winner… I can't believe I only got five reviews for my latest chapter of "Rise of the Science-Nin". Anyway, please read and review. Please let me know if I should continue this.


	2. Chapter 2

Heart of Gold: A Naruto Story

Chapter II: The Power of Probability

"Team 10," said Iruka from his place in the front of the classroom, "Naruto Uzumaki, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru." It was the day of the genin placements. Every student who had passed the genin exam was there, awaiting their team assignments. At the announcement of his squad, Naruto looked up surprised. Shikamaru and Ino both looked confused as well.

"Iruka-sensei," asked Ino, "Shouldn't Chouji be on our team, instead of Naruto? My father said-"

"Ino," spoke Iruka, "The team placements are decided by the Hokage directly, so please don't argue. The decisions are final." Ino nodded, unwilling to argue further. She wasn't terribly displeased; Naruto was the rookie of the year, after all. She still felt a little miffed though. She, Chouji, and Shikamaru had all practiced teamwork together for years, counting on the fact that they would be placed in a genin team together. While she ruminated, Iruka finished calling out the team assignments.

"Your Jounin senseis will be here shortly. I wish you all good luck on completing the Konoha Ninja Academy." With that the teacher who had taught them for three years left.

Naruto looked up from his place at his desk. His appearance had changed dramatically over the years. He was now the tallest student in class, at 158cm, or around 5 feet two inches. His muscles were very defined, and he had let his spiky blond hair grow long and wild; it reached almost to the small of his back, and covered his shoulders. It was held away from his face by a metal quarter-helm with a Konoha symbol etched into it, much like the Nidaime Hokage wore. He had found it, somewhat rusty and covered in grime, in an old trunk in the house he had started using all those years ago. He had shined it up and scoured off the rust spots, and now it looked as good as new. Before he graduated, he had worn a simple black headband to tie back his hair.

His clothes were made of simple yet durable fabrics. He had learned several years ago that few of the clothing merchants in Konoha would allow him to shop at their stores, and the rest overcharged him, so Naruto was forced to learn to sow and make his own clothing. Caravans came through Konoha often enough that he was able to purchase all of the fabric he needed to make his copies of his preferred outfit. His everyday-wear consisted of a black pair of pants with a triple-reinforced rear, shins, and knees, a black long-sleeved shirt with reinforced elbows and upper arms, and a pair of brown leather fingerless gloves that he had made out of deer hide. He had sewn a thin metal plate onto the back of each glove, to air in blocking attacks. For footwear, he wore a pair of black ninja sandals which were a gift from the Sandaime Hokage. Over his outfit, he wore a set of blue samurai-like armor which he had found in the same trunk as his helmet. It covered his torso, groin, shoulders, and backside. It was made out of some unknown material which looked like wood from a distance but felt almost like a sea shell to the touch. It was incredibly durable; Naruto couldn't score it with a kunai when he tried.

When Naruto started wearing the armor last year (that's when it finally fit him, though it was still quite large on his frame) several people had gaped at him, though no one said anything. He didn't yet realize that his outfit was a near-copy of the Nidaime Hokage's. He wouldn't have cared even if someone told him; it was what he had, and he thought it made him look awesome. Besides, it was incredibly practical. Since he started wearing the armor he hadn't even received a bruise in any of his spars at the academy.

Naruto also carried a weapon. Strapped across his back (when he stood) or leaning against his chair (when he sat) was a traditional Japanese polearm called a naginata. He had found the two foot long katana-like blade amongst much clutter in the attic crawlspace of his house, and had restored it using steel wool, metal polish and elbow grease. He had fashioned the six foot long handle himself, out of seasoned hardwood from a tree he felled. He had paid one of the ninja weaponsmiths in town over half a year's pay from his orphan's stipend to engrave seals on it which made both the blade and the pole nearly unbreakable, and the blade ever-sharp and rustproof. He had spied on the weaponsmith as he engraved the seals, and he had laboriously reproduced them on all of his kunai and shuriken. There were already seals on his armor and helmet that he suspected might account for their incredible durability, so he didn't mess with them. He had no understanding of what the fuuinjutsu meant or how it functioned, but that didn't seem to stop it from working.

The blond jinchurikki had practiced every day for two years with his naginata, which he affectionately named Maru-chan, developing his own style. Most ninjas didn't carry polearms, preferring short agile weapons that allowed them to move quickly. Being a user of water techniques, which were mainly defensive or support techniques, Naruto knew that he was at his best the further he kept his enemies from his body, so a long weapon suited him well. Besides, he always had his kunai as backup.

The young teenagers waited for their teachers, mostly in silence, and after a short while many of them started showing up. Among the first was the jounin-sensei for Team 10, Sarutobi Asuma. The bearded man quickly introduced himself, and then asked the students to follow him so they could get acquainted.

Shortly, Asuma led them to a family style restaurant, which was open-air, taking advantage of Konoha's warm year-round climate. Asuma offered to pay for their lunch, so the four ordered food and drinks.

Asuma spoke, "Well, I've got some good news, and some bad news for you kids." The three genin looked at him intently. "The good news is that you're all officially genin, and unless you screw up really badly, or are physco or something, you're going to be ninjas after this. The bad news is that only about three to fifteen students a year get to be placed on teams under a jounin like me. All of the graduates get to be tested, but most of us jounin are needed for high-ranking missions and stuff, so only a limited number can be committed teachers. The genin that don't pass the tests given to them by their prospective teachers will go on to be placed in either an administrative post, a specialist position like medic or espionage, or on the reserve list depending on their skills and talents. Most of these ninjas will never rise beyond chunin, and unless they luck out and get placed in ANBU or with the hunter-nins, they will have little chance to learn new techniques or grow in strength unless they're part of a clan or something."

The genin in Team 10 were all flabbergasted. Shikamaru looked surprised, no mean feat. Ino went pale. Naruto just looked angry. "Why the hell weren't we told this earlier on?!" asked the jinchurikki, "I know a lot of people who would have trained harder back at the academy if they knew they were going to be tested like this. All of us just assumed we would have a jounin to show us the ropes."

Asuma nodded, "That is an excellent question. The reason why you were all unaware of this fact is that it was intentionally kept from you. We fostered an environment in the academy which allowed the strongest to rise to the top and the weakest to sink to the bottom. The ones who studied just enough to get by would be mediocre ninjas anyway, so they belong in the rank-and-file. The strong ones and the smart ones are the people we want to get the best training. The test I'm going to give you tomorrow will tell me if you have what it takes to be ninjas worthy of the tutelage of a jounin, or if you belong with the average ninjas. You have already proven you have the necessary skills to be able to take my test, that's part of what the academy exam was for. Now, I get to find out if you have that special extra something which separates you from those of average abilities."

"Troublesome," said Shikamaru. Ino nodded in agreement.

Naruto thought quietly for several minutes. While he was lost in thought, their food arrived. He had ordered pork buns, one of his favorites. To drink, he had green tea, a luxury for him, as grocers were as liable to sell to him as to beat him with a broomstick, and tea leaves did not grow wild in Fire Country.

Asuma took a bite of cheeseburger, then spoke, forcing his brooding students out of their thoughts. "Well, we'll be together for a day longer, no matter what. I'd like to get to know you three a little better. Why don't you introduce yourselves to me by telling me your names, some of your favorite things, something unique about yourself, and your specialty in the ninja arts. I'll go first." The older man cleared his throat. "My name is Sarutobi Asuma. My favorite thing is to eat a leisurely meal in the company of friends, though I also enjoy playing shoji and go. One unique thing about me is that I served as a guardian for the daimyo for a time. My specialty is close combat using my trench knives." He smiled at his students. "You next," he said, pointing at Ino.

"Well, my name is Yamanaka Ino, and my favorite things in the world are flowers, though I do like Sasuke-kun quite a bit. One thing that makes me unique is my dashing good looks and flawless skin. Information gathering and infiltration is my specialty."

Naruto spoke next, without prompting. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and my absolute favorite thing is to relax in a hot bath for as long as I'm able to. I also like to learn new things. I supposed the thing that makes me unique is that I passed the academy with the highest scores they've ever seen, in every category except genjutsu. I would definitely say that suiton ninjutsu is my specialty, as those comprise most of my techniques."

Asuma looked interested. "It's pretty impressive for someone who's not even a genin to know elemental techniques. How many do you know, if I might ask?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment. "I know fifteen different water-element techniques, twelve that I learned from scrolls and three that I created myself. I also created one non-elemental technique."

Asuma looked delighted. "Creating techniques at your age? I'd say you're going to go far, if they even remotely good. Most ninja leave this life without creating a single technique, but the greats always make at least one. I hope you can pass tomorrow, kid." He paused to take a drink of his cola, then pointed at Shikamaru. "Now, you, shy kid, tell us about yourself.

"Mendosuke … My name is Nara Shikamaru. I prefer watching the clouds in the sky more than anything else in this troublesome existence. I'm unique because I'm apparently the only person in Konoha under twenty who understands how crazy and dangerous being a ninja actually is. And before you ask, the reason I chose to become a ninja is because it's the least troublesome job I could think of. My specialty is planning tactics and strategy either in advance or on the fly, and using my family techniques to implement them."

Asuma nodded. "As expected from a Nara." Shikamaru sighed, and reached for another piece of the watermelon he had ordered. Apparently he was quite fond of the stuff.

The four quickly finished their meal. Near the end, Asuma gave them the details on where and when to meet him for the test the next day. They were each to bring their full gear, and to arrive at training field 22 at 9am precisely. Asuma warned them that being even a minute late, or more than fifteen minutes early would disqualify them from taking his test. He explained to them that in the course of their duties they would be expected to adhere to this rule, as punctuality was extremely important to ninja, especially as they rose in rank. After he said that, the four of them heard an extremely loud sneeze, coming from the general vicinity of the Ninja Academy. Asuma didn't seem surprised.

The four broke their meeting after that, returning to their homes to await their judgment on the morrow.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Author's Note: I think it went pretty well, though there is no action yet. I'm still in the "set-up" stages at this point. Expect some awesomeness next chapter. I have great plans for Naruto's team mates. In cannon, Ino and Shikamaru are somewhat weak as well as completely specialized, despite the advantages they've had due to their clans. This Naruto is not going to let them be weak. Please read and review. Reviews are like candy to me, and I definitely have a sweet tooth.'


	3. Chapter 3

Heart of Gold: A Naruto Story

Chapter III: In Which Everyone Gets Wet

Ten minutes before the scheduled time their apprenticeship test was to take place, the three genin members of Team 10 could be found in training area sixty-four, each of them standing nervously and on guard, waiting for their instructor to show up. Naruto was almost shaking, he was so excited. He desperately hoped this would be a test involving combat, as he hadn't ever had a chance to really cut loose at the academy due to rules and restrictions. Ino, on the other hand, was hoping the exact opposite. She hoped that the test would be something not having to do with directly combat, taijutsu and ninjutsu being her weakest areas. Shikamaru, while his overpowered brain planned a strategy for every possibility he could imagine, simply hoped that the test, whatever it turned out to be, didn't end up being too troublesome. Excluding quick glances at each other, the genin were quiet and kept to themselves.

Less than five minutes before the time Asuma had given them yesterday was up, the bearded jounin arrived amidst a flurry of air and leaves.

"Yo, I see that you all showed up. Excellent." He smiled at them pleasantly. "I've never been one to beat around the bush, so I'll get right to it. In order to become my apprentices, you three will each have to land a strike on me. It doesn't matter if it's ninjutsu, taijutsu, or a weapon, but you have to somehow damage me." He smiled at them. "I'll be unarmed and I won't use any offensive jutsu, to make this fair, but I will be evading and using taijutsu."

The three genin goggled at the requirements for passing the test. For a genin to be able to land a blow on a jounin; it was almost unheard of. Ino voiced her opinion, "What! That's crazy, how can new genin hit a jounin?" she yelled, a cross look on her face. Naruto glanced at her sideways and smirked. He thought she was pretty cute when she was angry.

"That's your problem, Yamanaka. The test begins now!"

With that, the Jounin leapt back several yards as if expecting a sudden attack. When he landed, he noted that all three of the genin had retreated into the surrounding woods. 'They're smarter than they look,' thought Asuma. He scanned for them for a few moments, but didn't see anything. That's when he felt a sudden rumbling, followed by the noise of fast approaching liquid. 'Naruto?' he thought. 'Where!?' Asuma looked around again, but there was no water jutsu rushing for him. His feet were wet, though… He looked down briefly, and noted that he ground was now flooded, up to his ankles.

Suddenly something loomed above him. The jounin looked upward, only to face and enormous wave of liquid rushing at him, thousands of gallons at least. "Son of a...!" He looked around for a place to kawarimi to, but the wave was going to hit everything in the surrounding area. Using a large amount of chakra to enhance his leg muscles, Asuma jumped straight up, on top of the wave. Using his excellent chakra control, honed through decades of use, he managed to stand on top of the water as the wave his the ground, flooding the small valley that was training area sixty-four. As things settled down, he noted that the water level was at least ten feet deep, and that most of the trees were at least halfway under water.

Naruto suddenly jumped out onto the water, standing on it as easy as day. Shikamaru and Ino appeared behind him. "Asuma-sensei, I really wish you would have picked a training ground close to a lake or stream, this technique uses a decent portion of my chakra." Asuma goggled; a technique like this would drain most jounin level shinobi to the point of death. "Now," said the blond jinchurikki, "Let's really get this test started. Ino, Shikamaru, you two know what to do." The two other genin nodded. Naruto had picked them up from their homes an hour prior to the test and Shikamaru had worked out a plan for both of them to follow in the event of a combat test. Surprisingly, to the blonde, they had both agreed that he should be the leader. Not that Naruto had any complaints about that.

Asuma smiled. This was getting really interesting. He had already decided to pass the three based on what they had shown him so far. He really wanted to see what they were capable of though. Naruto didn't disappoint. He quickly flashed through five hand seals, and called out "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!". Asuma almost shit his pants. That jutsu normally required over forty hand seals! Naruto must have a water affinity almost as great as the Nidaime Hokage! An enormous dragon made of water, bigger than the smoking jounin had ever seen, leapt from the water behind Naruto. At the same time, Shikamaru and Ino both ran toward each side of Asuma in a classic pincer maneuver. Both of them started making hand seals as they went. Asuma made a quick half-seal, and body-flickered directly in front of Naruto, just as the massive dragon of water was about to crash down on his previous position. Naruto smirked, and made a quick half-seal, then ducked before Asuma's thrown fist could connect with his head. His hand touched the surface of the water, and Asuma found himself falling into the liquid despite using the water walking technique. Before he could see what his student had in store for him, he used the kawarimi change places with a dead branch atop a nearby tree.

Naruto scowled as the dragon made a huge wave crashing into the new lake. He turned to face Asuma, who was now high atop a tree, almost fifteen feet above the three genins heads. "Damn you, old man!" yelled Naruto. Then he smiled. "I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve." Asuma smiled. He was really interested now. He'd already seen a B-ranked technique, and whatever had created or moved all this water had to be at least A-ranked. He wondered what else Naruto could do, not to mention the other students.

Naruto made three quick hand seals, then pulled his Maru-chan, his Naginata from his back. The handle of the polearm was hardwood, and dyed a deep blue. The blade shined brightly in the light, reflecting off of the water. The whole weapon glowed blue briefly, and Naruto twirled it quickly, dunking the blade into the water. He spun it around, and when the sword-like end emerged, it was coated with a layer of water. Asuma broke into an enormous grin, reminded of his own signature fighting style.

"This is the first of my original Suiton techniques; Suiton: Touketsu Gogyou Setsudanki no Jutsu!" He twirled the eight foot long pole arm above his head rapidly, almost faster than Asuma could follow, then used the momentum of his rapid twirls to slash horizontally, aiming directly at the trunk of the tree Asuma was currently standing on. The polearm practically screamed as it lost all of the momentum from the rapid turns, and a thin deadly looking crescent made up of ice shot from the blade of the naginata, faster than sound. There was a small sonic boom, and the blade of ice sliced through the trunk of the tree completely and cleanly. The top of the tree was launched backward, and Asuma was forced to jump off, back onto the water. The severed part of the tree traveled backward a few more feet, then crashed into the water with a loud splash, kicking up water left and right. Naruto smiled.

Asuma started to move to his right, and discovered he couldn't. Then he heard something which made him smile. "Kagemane no Jutsu, success!" Out of the corner of his eye, Asuma could see his shadow stretching behind him, merging with Shikamaru's. Almost before he realized it, Naruto was practically in his face, the tip of his naginata pointed at the jounin's throat. From the opposite side that Shikamaru was on, he could faintly see Ino, a shuriken in each hand.

"Ready to concede, Asuma-sensei?" asked Naruto.

Asuma smiled. "I guess you three are good enough," he said. "I'll train you three." Suddenly he broke out of the shadow bind, and faster than any of them could see, he had disarmed Naruto and placed Maru-chan in it's holster on Naruto's back. Ino also her shuriken missing from her hands.

Asuma grinned as he walked away atop the water. "Meet me at training ground twenty-eight tomorrow… And by the way, you three have to clean up the mess here."

Three cries of shock and outrage chorused as the son of the Hokage walked toward his home, chuckling. A master strategist, a mindwalker, and a genin with the skills of a chunnin and the chakra reserves of a Kage! Those three really were interesting.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Author's Note: Ah, that hit the spot! Nothing like a feeling of completing another chapter of this little tale. I know it was short, but I hope it's sweetness make up for it's brevity. I'm going to skip to Team 10's first C-Rank mission next chapter, to make things less boring for both you, and I. As a result, I can assure that much badassery will ensue. Blade against blade, Suiton vs. Suiton, stay tuned for the next chapter of this riveting tale! Heart of Gold, Chapter IV: Clash of the Demons!


	4. Chapter 4

Heart of Gold

Chapter IV: Clash of the Demons!

Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru, had been doing D-Rank missions for just over a month. Their teamwork, already naturally good, had done nothing but improve, and their individual skills were increasing as well. With a person as hard working as Naruto on their team, and with a jounin to guide them, they were becoming a force to be feared. Already, clients within the village had started to specifically request Team 10, despite the stigma associated with one particular member of the cell. They were quickly becoming some of the most talented and dependable genin in Konoha.

Every day, barring Saturdays, the squad would meet in one training ground or another, and receive lessons in chakra control or physical training from Asuma, then spend time sparring or working on battlefield tactics. Usually Asuma and Shikamaru would play a game or two of shogi, which Shikamaru always won, much to the jounin's consternation. They would then usually quickly complete as many D-Rank missions as they could before lunch, sometimes five or more. Naruto's water clones made physical tasks insanely easy. Asuma dismissed his students in the afternoon, but Shikamaru and Ino had both discovered that Naruto had no intention of letting them go home. He would take over the role of sensei at that point, and train his two teammates into the ground. Already, their muscles were more defined, especially Ino, after Naruto had talked her into giving up the ridiculous diet she had been following. Shinobi needed to eat quite a lot to be able to perform jutsu, after all.

Considering their phenomenal progress so far, Asuma decided to let his team take a C ranked mission only one month after they had become genin. Already Ino and Shikamaru were as strong as many older genin he had encountered, and Naruto was in a league of his own, almost unclassifiable. Asuma could easily imagine the blonde boy being able to defeat several jounin he knew, but at the same time he thought of a couple of chuunin he knew that would give the boy trouble… Naruto's skills lied in several very specific areas, and his fighting style had a few noticeable weaknesses in it. If the boy were to encounter a serious genjutsu user, he would lose, flat-out. His genjutsu identification and dispelling abilities were very low. The half-helm he wore seemed to give him some protection from mind-altering techniques, probably due to the seals engraved in it, but it only worked on auditory and touch-based techniques. Visual genjutsu, the most common type, were still a major weakness.

On a warm Saturday morning, the team met at the Hokage tower, all of them abuzz with excitement. Naruto especially was looking forward to his first mission out of the Village. For him, it would be the first time he had ever left his hometown, except for brief forays into the woods surrounding the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

The three children and one adult walked into the office and stepped up the mission table where the Hokage and chuunin instructor Umino Iruka sat.

"I would like to request a C Ranked mission for my team, pops," said Asuma, directing his speech to the Hokage.

Sarutobi blinked. "Isn't this a little sudden, Asuma? They have only been genin for a little over a month; certainly they aren't at that level yet?"

Asuma smiled. "Pops, they're the best team of genin I've ever seen, hands down. The three of them can take me on and win nearly every time. Individually, they're all almost chuunin level, or even above, and together they're stronger than most jounin. I would bet my life that they're ready for this."

Sarutobi looked startled at his son's words. He would have never expected the three genin to have advanced this quickly. It was not without precedent, however... He was reminded of his own genin team, who had become as skilled as jounin under his tutelage in less time than it took most Nin to complete the academy. Sarutobi smiled.

"Request granted. In fact, there is an escort mission that would be perfect for them as a first C-rank. Let me introduce you to Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave Country…"

&~&~&~&~&~&

It was a fairly short trip to the Wave Country. They passed through fire country traveling east, and then through the tiny Bat Country. Asuma wouldn't let them stop for the night there; he kept glancing worriedly from side to side and mumbling about drugged out freaks. On the sixth day of their journey, close to the border of Nami no Kuni, they ran into trouble.

Walking together, Naruto and Ino led the way forward, with Tazuna in t he middle and Shikamaru and Asuma following. Ahead lay a puddle in the middle of the footpath they were on, glimmering softly in the midday sun. Seeing it, Naruto narrowed his eyes. By now, his affinity for water was excellent, as good as any living Suiton expert's. He could _feel_ when water was near, and he knew that the puddle ahead contained no water. Just to be sure, he sniffed, his nose flaring. He was sure now… there was nothing natural about that puddle. It reeked of metal, blood, and poison.

Turning his head backward to meet Asuma's eyes, he was greeted with a slight nod. Shikamaru's hackles were also raised, but Ino seemed oblivious. Tazuna, of course, was a civilian and could sense nothing.

As they approached the puddle, it flickered, and then disappeared. Two figures leapt out, a sharpened chain held between them. They ran directly toward Naruto and Ino, intended to eliminate them both with one move. Several things happened in rapid succession.

Ino smirked, and Naruto saw it. She had been aware of the genjutsu after all, thought Naruto. Cheeky girl!

Naruto disappeared, utilizing the kawarimi. He had switched places with the one of the enemy's re-breather masks. Gouzu died instantly, as Naruto's naginata sliced through the middle of his head.

Meizu was barely aware that anything was wrong, when he found he could no longer move. A shadow stretched from a grinning Shikamaru, connecting with his own. Ino's thrown shuriken found the seams in his armor seconds after he was immobilized, crippling all four of his limbs. Shikamaru ended his jutsu rather than being forced to keep the enemy chuunin upright, causing him to flop onto the ground like a fish out of water.

From the sidelines, Asuma smiled, and shook his head from side to side in astonishment. These kids were truly amazing.

"Excellent job, team. One kill, one capture, exactly as the textbook says. Now," said Asuma, turning to a petrified Tazuna, a dangerous gleam in his eye, "You will tell me why you have shinobi after you. Depending on if I like your answer or not, you will get to continue living."

Tazuna gulped. He had some serious 'splainin to do.

&~&~&~&~&~&

"So, a multi-billionaire tyrant wanted to take over a poor, non-strategically placed island nation for what reason?" asked Asuma.

Tazuna shrugged, "I don't know, maybe because we're a major port on this side of the elemental countries and used to be a trading hub? All I know is what Gato's done since he took over. He's had people in my nation executed as if he was the Daimyo; he's taken my countrymen as slaves, and treated the rest of us not much better. Wave's never had a standing army due to our geographic isolation, and we haven't needed a militia in years… We were totally unprepared for something like this. By the time Gato made his intentions known, we were all poor enough to prevent most people from traveling to get help. We took a collection, almost six hundred families contributed, and it was only enough for me to travel to Konoha and hire ninjas for a C-rank mission. I swear that I would have paid for an A-rank if I could have."

Asuma listened to the story, and actually felt bad for the guy. Against someone like Gato, and the thugs he could hire a modest fishing and trading country would be no match. There were less than five thousand people living in Wave, maybe a quarter of those were able bodied men. Almost none of them would be trained to fight, and they were scattered over an area of a couple dozen square miles. Compared with the hundreds of brutal thugs that comprised Gato's army, they could have done almost nothing, even if they were foolish enough to try.

In fact, Tazuna's plan was doomed to failure as well, even if he could finish the bridge. There was nothing to prevent Gato from simply seizing it after it was complete, or from blowing it up or that matter. It was a plan that reeked of desperation. Asuma doubted if Tazuna honestly believed it could succeed… Which is doubtless why he had hired ninjas. Logically, the only thing Asuma could think of that might solve the situation was Gato's assassination. For such a high-profile target, that would cost dozens of times more than the old bridge builder had paid for the "escort" mission.

Asuma shook his head. He honestly didn't know whether to continue on or not. If his team had been made up of any other three genin, he would have headed back to Konoha immediately. As it was, he believed that between himself and the three genin, they could probably handle two jounin of average strength with few problems, and Gato had probably not resorted to hiring ninjas of any renown; those were expensive after all. Especially when kept on retainer. If he did continue, though, and if they succeeded… Well, there were few things that looked better on a hidden village's resume than rescuing a country. Despite the brutality of ninja life, Konoha courted an image that portrayed them as the peaceful, friendly shinobi. "Killers with a smile" some called them. It was ridiculous, but it certainly helped attract clients. This mission had the potential to increase their image a great deal.

"Tazuna-san… I am torn between canceling this mission and continuing. Before I make my decision, however, I would like to hear from my students. Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru; Do you three believe we should continue, or not? I warn you, there could be more ninja after us, possibly multiple jounin."

The three students looked at each other warily, and moved together to softly converse. After a few moments of speaking, they broke apart and Naruto stepped forward.

"We would like to continue the mission if possible, sensei. Tazuna has a worthy cause, and shinobi of the Leaf aren't quitters. Also, he could agree to pay us for an A-rank after Wave gets back on its feet."

Asuma smiled. "Very well, then. We'll continue on, bridge builder. Let's hope the next trouble we encounter isn't more than we can handle."

&~&~&~&~&~&

Asuma rolled forward, the giant zanbato whizzing mere centimeters above his head. The crazy nin who had ambushed them chuckled harshly.

"It seems that the great Fire Guardian Sarutobi Asuma is a little rusty… either that, or you're a poorer shinobi than my bingo book made you out to be. Either way, I don't think you'll be able to last long against my blade, the Kubikiri Houcho."

Asuma grimaced. He really was out of shape. Damn those cigarettes! They really ruined his lung capacity. He swore then and there to give them up if he lived through this.

Zabuza shot forward once again, his enormous weapon whistling as it sliced through the air on the way to Asuma's head. He barely dodged to the side as the blade fell to meet the earth. Quick as a leopard, Asuma darted in to deliver a killing blow to Zabuza's chest with his left trench knife. Zabuza dissolved into water…

Asuma once again rolled out of the way as the real Zabuza appeared behind him throwing another sword strike. Asuma frowned. This was getting nowhere. He hated to admit it, but Zabuza was better in close quarters combat. He was going to have to switch to his backup specialty; Ninjutsu.

Stowing his knives away in their holsters, Asuma quickly made a few hand-seals as Zabuza charged at him through the thick mist. Due to the moisture in the atmosphere, fire techniques, Asuma's primary element, were out. Luckily Asuma knew plenty of other techniques from other elements, as well as some non-elemental jutsu.

Finishing the requisite hand-seals, Asuma stomped his foot onto the soft ground and called out, "Doton: Doryū Taiga!"

The ground under Zabuza's feet suddenly turned into a flowing river of mud, and he momentarily lost his composure. It was clear that the famous Demon of the Hidden Mist was not used to dealing with Earth Release techniques. A second was all Naruto needed. Breaking from the formation guarding Tazuna, Naruto used his above-jounin level kawarimi to switch places with Zabuza's massive zanbato. He appeared in a completely surprised Zabuza's grip. Before the man could do anything about it, Naruto plunged the sharp point of his naginata into the back of the rouge ninja's head.

Zabuza once again dissolved into water, and Naruto fell into the rive of mud. Asuma quickly threw himself out of the way as several water bullets passed through the spot he stood on less than a second prior. His eyes were wide with shock, he _knew_ that that had been the real Zabuza, up until at least the point where Naruto used the replacement jutsu. It seemed there were two masters of that particular technique in this fight. To have replaced himself at the last second like that, without any hand-seals, was an incredible feat.

Zabuza laughed from several feet away, his hands already rushing through more seals. The lake several dozen paces away began to bubble and froth, responding to Zabuza's chakra. Just as he was nearing the completion of his technique Naruto jumped up out of the river of mud and landed near Asuma. He quickly took stock of the situation, and smiled in glee. He rushed through his own series of hand-seals, and smiled widely as Zabuza's technique, a mighty water dragon, stopped forming and collapsed. Zabuza looked shocked, then furious.

The former member of the seven shinobi swordsmen of the Mist glared at Naruto in hatred, and too out a kunai as his sword was still missing, being held by the other two genin of Team 10. By now Shikamaru had already booby-trapped it with several explosive notes. It was in no condition to be used if the wielder was interested in remaining alive.

His razor-sharp teeth gnashing through his mouth bandages in rage, Zabuza simultaneously made the single hand-seal for water clones and charged at in the direction of Asuma and Naruto. Naruto steeled himself and made seals for mizu bunshin of his own, creating three times the number Zabuza did.

Zabuza's was beyond shocked now. He had thought at first that this was a regular genin squad with some out of shape jounin instructor and three brats, but he had come to realize that he was dealing with two jounin-class ninjas, and the other two were probably chuunin. Their ages had fooled him… But someone like him especially shouldn't have made such a rookie mistake of judging his enemies by their ages. He snorted as he pulled another kunai out of his pouch with his off hand. Dual wielding the standard shinobi weapons, he met Asuma's trench knives head-on as Naruto and thirty of his water clones engaged Zabuza's ten bunshin.

Knives flashed and the sounds of steel meeting steel rang out across the countryside. The two master weapons users met time and again, blade versus blade, as the fight ground onward. Puddles dotted the forest floor as clones dispersed. Sometimes a blond doppelganger would burst into a fountaining column of water, and other times a black haired shirtless Nin would pop, splashing everything in its vicinity. Naruto thanked whatever god watched over him that Zabuza had lost his sword. He could more than match the man in ninjutsu, but he was barely defeating his clones in close quarters combat, even when they were only armed with kunai and he and his clones with naginata.

Zabuza's brow was dotted with sweat. Thought he was easily stronger than this fool when armed with his Kubikiri Houcho, he was loosing badly in a knife fight, the leaf jounin's weapon of choice. Already his arms and wrists were lined with scratches and small gouges, and there was a semi-serious gash running across the back of his hand. These two mediocre jounin were doing what no single enemy he had fought had managed to do… Counter him in every one of his specialties. Zabuza frowned as a gained another light slash courtesy of Asuma's knives. At this rate he knew he would be defeated before too long. Unless…

Zabuza steeled himself, and intentionally accepted a cut to his chest, using the opportunity to leap backward several feet. As he did so, he called out, "Haku! Reinforce me!"

Naruto, having finished off the last Zabuza clone, stared as a masked hunter-nin appeared out of nowhere in the whirling gust of leaves characteristic of the body flicker technique. The blonde demon container gulped. He seriously hoped that this new ninja was significantly weaker than Zabuza.

Haku frowned beneath his mask. He had watched the entire fight without interfering, as per his master's orders. He was just gearing up to rescue his mentor if needed when he was called out from his hiding place. This was not Zabuza's normal style, usually the man would retreat and the two of them would plan a strategy based on the skills they had seen from their enemies (as no one ninja had ever forced Zabuza to retreat) and come up with a plan to beat them. This time though… Haku could see the merit of finishing things here and now. The jounin Asuma was strong, almost in the same class as Zabuza, it just happened that the Kiri missing-nin held the trump card in elemental techniques and a weapon with superior reach and power. The young boy, on the other hand, was no particular threat but for his skills with water ninjutsu. He was incredibly good, thought Haku, even better than even Hoshigake Kisame, who he had thought was the best water specialist in the world. No matter. Just as water trumped fire, Ice was at least a partial trump card for water techniques. It was hard to use Suiton jutsu when your opponent could freeze them at will.

Zabuza grunted in slight pain at the new cut on his chest. "Haku," he spoke, "you take out the blond brat. I'll kill the fire guardian here."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama!" said his loyal tool.

Naruto steeled himself as he faced off with the young ice user. He had a feeling that things were just getting started.

Author's Note: Blamco! Here's something to chew on for you guys and possibly girls. Let me know if it's any good, stinks, etc… I'll try to post more frequently, I promise! (crosses fingers behind back) Really! ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Heart of Gold

Chapter V: Frozen Tears

Naruto and the masked hunter-nin leapt at each other again, the blonde demon container's naginata whirling to deflect the multitude of senbon needles launched at him. Haku attempted to flash through a series of one-handed seals, but was forced to pull back as Naruto leapt forward, his weapon nearly slicing off the fake hunter-nin's fingers.

Haku smiled beneath his mask, and kicked the wet ground causing a spray of water to fly into the air. With a single one-handed seal each droplet of water became an ice senbon and almost instantly fired at his opponent. Naruto quickly spun Maru-chan, his seal-reinforced naginata, to deflect them but was a half-second too late. His armor deflected the vast majority of the frozen projectiles, but several of them became lodged in his body, mostly in his unprotected legs. Another ice senbon had gone right into his cheek, he could taste ice and blood in his mouth. Moving quickly, he created a veritable army of water clones and set them upon his opponent.

Many of the clones began twirling their naginatas in a defensive pattern while the ones in the rear waited for an opportunity to attack. A few more leapt into the surrounding trees, looking for an opportunity to attack with ranged weapons. Naruto fervently wished once more that water clones could use ninjutsu. That would have made this so much easier.

Almost as rapidly as Naruto had created and deployed his clones, Haku undid all of his work with two one-handed seals. Suddenly all of his mizu bunshins went rigid, then fell to the ground, crumbling into small pieces of ice. Naruto's mind boggled, and his minute pause almost cause him to be impaled by ice needles again before he was able to pull off a hasty replacement technique. He grimaced, wondering if all of his techniques could be as easily countered by this mysterious Nin.

Haku pursued Naruto through the tress, away from the other two battling ninjas. He caught the sight of his teacher taking another light slash across the torso as he raced after the armor clad jinchuuriki. Naruto had taken to the trees in hopes of robbing his opponent of usable water for those strange ice techniques. He was similarly disadvantaged, but he hoped his longer weapon would make up for the loss.

Haku smirked. The blonde boy's strategy was clear, if a bit off. Having water nearby made his techniques easier to perform, _much_ easier in fact, but it was not a necessity. With enough chakra he could muster a few ice ninjutsu even in a desert. Haku intentionally left an opening as he jumped from one branch to another, pretending to be off balance, and smirked as the other Nin launched forward, trying to impale him on his blade. Consuming nearly half of his remaining chakra, Haku used his Makyō Hyōshō technique. No one had ever escaped from his Demonic Ice Mirrors, not even Zabuza during their frequent spars.

Naruto watched amazed as dozens of crystalline mirrors sprang up around him, imprisoning the young shinobi in a glittering dome of ice. His eyes widened as copies of his enemy sprang up on every surface. He narrowed his eyes in determination and pulled his weapon close, ready for anything.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Zabuza was sweating, both figuratively and literally. He found himself slowly loosing against the bearded leaf-nin. He felt like an idiot for not retreating earlier, but he had been suckered. He had initially thought that The Fire Guardian Asuma's primary element was fire, his bingo book had even said so. But the man had either done elemental recomposition training in two elements, or had somehow spread false information about himself throughout the elemental nations. Zabuza had discovered this when one of Asuma's trench knives had flared blue and actually sliced through one of his own kunai, removing the last two fingers of right hand. As the two still clenched digits fell to the ground, Zabuza realized that unless the other man made a big mistake or some miracle occurred, he was going to lose. And miracles were in short supply, especially for demons.

Asuma found himself constantly struggling for breath. He had fought other jounin class ninjas before, many times in fact, and almost always he came out on top. He knew that as far a normal, non-bloodline ninjas went he was a cut above most of them. He had known since the age of 8, when his father tested him for his element, that he would not be another Sandaime. His father could wield each of the elements equally, and both the size of his chakra reserves and his control were unmatched. Asuma had tested positive for both fire and wind natures, and was in the 10th percentile for chakra reserves, but he could not match his famous dad. Asuma had had to work for every once of strength he possessed, and faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful father, it was no surprise that he chose to leave home to pursue his ninja career away from the stifling influence of the man who had sired him.

He had enjoyed learning elemental composition from the monks at the fire temple, and had immersed himself in glittering knife dances taught to him by a master assassin who couldn't even use chakra. He had stolen, begged, borrowed and killed for over a dozen rare wind techniques, and created three more himself besides. He had learned every fire jutsu his father would send to him by ninja courier, and more when he returned to Konoha. He had even created his own signature technique, a hybrid fire-wind ninjutsu that could create a cloud of explosive smoke which could be remotely detonated.

He had realized at a young age that he was the only Konoha-nin on record, besides his father of course, who could wield wind techniques. The vast majority of wind users came from Sunagakure no Sato, and it was almost viewed as a bloodline limit by those of the elemental nations. Sure, there were a few ninjas from Kumo and Kusa who could use wind, but they were the vast minority and those countries were severely lacking in techniques which could make wind use a deadly skill. So Asuma, the only Konoha wind user in active service, had decided to keep his primary element a secret and use it only as a surprise trump card. Sure, there were a few extra-knowledgeable ninjas who would could recognize why his knives were so sharp and deadly, but most simply thought it was a trick of regular neutral-natured chakra. No one that he had faced had lived long enough to spread his secret.

As he severed Zabuza's fingers, ending the man's ability to use nearly all ninjutsu, Asuma realize that this legendary Nin would be no different from all the rest. Still, it wouldn't do to get cocky now. Panting once more, a painful stitch digging into his side, Asuma pressed his attack. Barely reacting to the loss of his fingers, Zabuza pulled out another kunai and met the leaf jounin head on.

&~&~&~&~&~&

"I am sorry, young Jounin, but I must end your life. You are far too dangerous to leave alive." spoke dozens of copies of the masked ninja, Haku.

Naruto winced. This technique must really be something if the boy believed that his death was certain. He knew that he had to get the initiative back, fights like this were never won by defending. You had to attack! He wondered just how sturdy those mirrors were, and how easily the dark-haired boy could defend against his water techniques.

Making a spur-of-the moment decision, Naruto's hands flew through seals, finally ending with his finger pointing at one of the ice mirrors, while crying out "Suiton: Mizu Kousen no jutsu!" He had used his second original water technique.

A thin stream of water exploded from just in front of his finger tip, it's power and velocity incredible. Less than one millimeter wide, the pure force present in the stream was phenomenal. It hit one of the mirrors dead center, and stopped. Naruto felt his ninjutsu co-opted, and the stream almost instantly turned to ice. The blonde ninja jumped back hastily as the end of the stream near his finger suddenly jabbed itself back at him, it's point needle sharp.

Naruto frowned, then paled as a hail of metal senbon were launched at him. He barely managed to dodge the barrage, performing acrobatics that his armor barely gave him the range of motion to utilize. Still, the suit proved it's value as it deflect a handful of senbon that he had not been able to outmaneuver.

'So,' thought the jinchuuriki, 'precision technique are out.'. A wicked grin appeared on his face. If skill wouldn't get the job done, then he would aim for sheer, overwhelming power. Naruto decided to use the sole original non-elemental technique that he had developed. It was a pretty risky move, but something deep inside told him it had a good probability of succeeding. He could almost _feel_ that using that technique was the right move to make.

Naruto stopped dodging senbon, and tucked his face into his chest while hardening his hair with chakra to prevent senbon needles from penetrating his skull. He quickly started to flash through hand signs while being ruthlessly pelted with needles. Realizing that the projectiles were having little effect and determined to stop whatever jutsu the boy was using, Haku leapt directly toward the boy, an ice-elemental chakra reinforced senbon ready to end the young blonde's life.

Then the world exploded.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Zabuza's eyes went wide and he collapsed to the ground, his mouth bursting forth with a spray of blood. A wet gurgling sound erupted from his throat signaling his demise. And then all was quiet. Asuma wiped his trench knives on the missing nin's clothing and then sheathed them.

Asuma was about ready for a good nights sleep, but first he needed to make sure that his other student was alright. Leaping through the trees toward the original spot where his team met the Mist ninja, Asuma signaled for Shikamaru to follow him then leapt off toward the only other active chakra sources he could feel. He was not a true sensory-type, but he was more gifted than most at feeling chakra at distances.

As Asuma and Shikamaru approached the site of the second battle, the graceful curve of the Makyō Hyōshō came into view. Startled by the appearance of the glittering structure, both shinobi stopped. Their caution saved both of their lives.

Before anyone but Naruto knew what was happening, the entire ice dome exploded, sending out pieces of chakra-reinforced glittering death faster than a claymore can accelerate ball bearings. Asuma quickly snatched up Shikamaru and shielded them with his chakra as best he could. A fairly large and blunt piece of the elemental construct hit the bearded jounin in his right hip, knocking he and his pupil to the ground painfully.

Shikamaru cried out as he felt his left arm snap under the force of their tangled landing. Asuma tried to stand, but his right leg would not support his weight. He ran chakra through it, hardening and reinforcing muscle and tendon, a makeshift quasi-medical technique that anyone chuunin and above knew. He was able to walk that way, or limp rather, but at least he was on his feet. He shot the still screaming Shikamaru a harsh glare laced with not a little of his killing intent, shocking the wounded boy into silence.

Asuma quickly parted the bushes, ready to fight despite what he expected was a cracked or shattered pelvis, his trench knives appearing in his hands as if by magic. What he saw before him shocked and amazed the combat veteran.

Standing in the middle of a devastated clearing was his strongest student, completely unharmed, a triumphant look on his face. The remains of the ice technique were everywhere, as well as pieces of several obliterated trees. The ground was bare mud, whatever technique Naruto had performed had stripped the ground of even its grass. Chunks of the fake hunter-nin could be seen strewn around the clearing, an arm there, a foot over there, entrails all over. A disturbingly intact skull stripped of half it's face was embedded in a tree not three feet from where Asuma stood. The man who had slaughtered dozens of other ninjas and even civilians fought to hold down his gorge at the sight. It wasn't the gore that got him, it was the look of sheer horror etched into the dead ninja's surprisingly feminine face.

Asuma turned toward his student, suddenly bone weary, and wondered what to say. He was saved the trouble as the still grinning jinchuuriki slumped bonelessly to the ground, his cerulean eyes rolling up into the back of his head.

Asuma sighed, then hobbled over to the blonde and roughly threw the kid over his shoulder. He stumbled off to collect his other two students all the while muttering unhappily under his breath, but simultaneously thanking any and all gods that existed that he and his students had survived the day.

&~&~&~&~&~&

Author's Note: Yeah, I know it's been a while, I sorry, blah blah blah. The only thing I'm really sorry about is that I don't have more time to write. The next time I update this expect to see some profound changes from canon. Hopefully you will be both surprised and happy with them. I promise to keep writing if you keep reviewing! Unless I die or something HAHAHA! :p


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